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Tanaka Saimin Burger

We just knew this was coming. After word spread on the Ramen Burger sweeping the streets of New York and now the nation, someone here in Hawaii had to do our spin on it and make a Saimin Burger. Right? And who’s first to officially launch it on their menu? Not Zippy’s. Not Shiro’s. Not Shige’s. Not Palace. Not Dillingham. The pioneering flag goes to Tanaka Saimin on Nimitz.

Getting right to it, let’s check out how Da’ Saimin Burger arrives at the table…

Tanaka Saimin – Da’ Saimin Burger: A grilled Teriyaki beef patty with American cheese, served on a bed of fresh watercress inside a Tanaka Saimin noodle “bun”, including a side of saimin broth, Chinese mustard and dill pickles. $8.95.

You may be saying now, “Well, it’s not a complete Saimin Burger without Kamaboko and Green Onion, which is actually addressed in the side dish of broth, coming up shortly.

Hai, itadakimasu…

And? Wow! I’m impressed! Really, really ono! OMG! When you first hold it to your mouth, you’re kinda’ like, “Is this for real? Did they REALLY do this?” Then once you take the first bite, you’re like, “Oh yeah, this is SO right. This should have been done a long time ago!”

Naturally, the first thing that comes to mind are the play on textures, as you don’t quite know what to expect from rather thin profile saimin noodles glued together to form a burger bun. Then as you bite and chew through it, you realize it’s pretty much exactly as advertised: a Saimin Burger. Kinda’ slash “Cake Noodle Burger” because of the flavor of the saimin noodles and the fact that their fried. Yet the Teriyaki Beef reminds you this is a Saimin Burger, being Saimin is usually served with BBQ Teriyaki Beef sticks on the side. So you “get it”.

Let’s try dipping it in the Saimin broth…

Meh. Doesn’t do nothing for it, primarily because the broth itself doesn’t do anything for, well, anything. All it tastes like is shrimp stock. Just water boiled with shrimp heads and shells, and that’s it. No dashi, no shoyu, and barely an adequate amount of salt. It says they use Konbu, however I couldn’t detect that, either, as there was no complexity to it at all. Just plain ‘ole shrimp stock. All I can say is, Tanaka Saimin, if this is your house saimin broth, you need to seriously modify the recipe. At least add Dashinomoto in there, for cryin’ out loud! If I come here and order saimin, I’m definitely sneaking in a packet (or two) of dashinomoto with me and adding it to the bowl.

And if you don’t believe me, read the numerous Yelp reviews about their broth “issue”. And Tanaka’s, I’m not bashing, but trying to be constructive here. This is such an easy fix, so FIX IT!

Now let’s try it with the Chinese mustard and shoyu sauce…

The Coleman’s type mustard and shoyu sauce now makes it taste like I’m eating Chinese Cake Noodles, and completely masks the flavor of the teriyaki burger within it. Way better than dipping it in their lackluster saimin broth, yet not a good match for what this is trying to be, which to be more specific, should be named a TERIYAKI SAIMIN BURGER.

Which I think, as EXCELLENT as it is in and of itself, the Tanaka Saimin Burger is somewhat suffering an identity crisis. It’s trying to be both a teriyaki burger and a bowl of samin, all in one, yet it’s not really sure where the line is drawn. My impression is that it’s more of an EXCELLENT Teriyaki burger with a saimin noodle twist, than it is saimin with a teri’ burger twist.

That said, I say leave the broth and mustard out of the equation, and just enjoy the Saimin Burger as a GREAT Teriyaki burger with a saimin noodle bun twist, and take that for what it’s worth. And it’s worth a lot. It really is FANTASTIC! The quality of the beef patty is excellent, tasting fresh, nicely seared, super juicy, with just the right amount of very tasty teriyaki sauce. While the fried saimin noodle “bun” totally works with it, making for an all-around super onolicious burger.

Oh, how big is it?

It measures 4¼” in diameter x 2″ thick from the base to the top of the saimin “bun”. In fact, I only could eat half of it one sitting, as the compacted noodle “bun” seemed more filling than a much more airy, less dense bread-based bun.

It must also be noted (again) that Tanaka Saimin makes their own noodles, so this isn’t yet another Sun Noodle product. And these noodles are very tasty, coming across more Chinese than Japanese in flavor profile. Perhaps because it’s fried, so I’ve got cake noodle stuck in my mind. Which really is what makes Saimin what it is: a dish created from contributions by the Chinese and Japanese plantation workers, with various other ethnic influences, depending what’s put on or in it.

What about the dill pickle, how did that work out? It actually helped it! I was surprised. I thought it would clash with the theme of the burger, but the acidity was actually a welcoming accent to the sweetness of the teri’ sauce.

If you ask me, if they’re trying to lean on asian influence with this, instead of a dill pickle, they should serve it with Takuwan (a.k.a. Takuan)…

What else would I change or modify if given the opportunity? First of all, I don’t think the watercress is the best pairing. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE watercress, and It works, yet I’m thinking lettuce and tomato would be better. A slice of onion, too and we can name it the Teriyaki Saimin Burger Deluxe!

I’d also try doing one without the teriyaki sauce, instead, using mayonnaise spread inside each half of the saimin noodle bun. It could also use another slice of cheese, as the one slice isn’t really enough for that massive burger patty.

Zippy’s Zip Min

Or I’d shoot for creating a Zip Min Burger, adding some charsiu, shrimp tempura, sauteed choi sum, green onion and a square sheet of nori as the burger topping. The only challenge would be incorporating the wontons. I’m thinkin’ having one pork-stuffed wonton stuck in the middle of the saimin noodle bun when it’s shaped. Common’ Zippy’s, I’m calling you out on this one! Do it! Zip Min Burger! Guaranteed would sell! I’d buy it!

I’m also curious how dashi would taste mixed with mayo’ as the Saimin Burger’s “Special Sauce”. A dashi-based Mayo’ spread sounds like it would totally work!

Oh, I also got second and third opinions of Da’ Saimin Burger from a couple coworkers who I shared the other half with when I returned to the office, and they both gave it double thumbs-up, with one giving it 3 SPAM Musubi, and the other 4. While both of them said they’d definitely order Da’ Saimin Burger on their next visit to Tanak’s.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, so didn’t order any sides on this initial Saimin Burger introduction. However after trying it, carbo-loading notwithstanding, I think a side of fries would go really well with it, as I think the flavor of the potatoes would help to buffer your palate from the onslaught of compacted saimin noodles. Wow, that was deep. lol Shrimp Tempura on the side would probably work well too if you wanna’ get your Surf ‘n Turf on.

P.S. Now if I really wanted this to be TRUE “Saimin Burger”, I wouldn’t use beef at all, making the burger patty out of ground pork, mixed with charsiu sauce, then roasted so it tastes like a charsiu burger patty. I’d top that with kamaboko and SPAM, with nori, sauteed choi sum and chopped green onions as the greens.

Then there’s these braddahs take on the Saimin Burger…

Yet, why stop there? Ramen Burger, check. Saimin Burger, check.

Well, how about an Okinawan Yakisoba Burger? Hah? How you figgah? “PC” notwithstanding, I’d passionately name it the “Oki Burger“. My take on the “Oki Burger” would be a bun made with Okinawan Yakisoba, while the patty would be made with ground pork mixed with Okinawan Shoyu Pork called Rafute. Topped with kamaboko, finely shredded cabbage (tonkatsu style), takuwan and beni shoga. Oh yes!

Or how about a Somen Salad Burger? Ha? How you figgah? A somen noodle “bun” encasing a grilled burger patty made with ground pork that’s mixed with chopped charsiu and SPAM. Topped with lettuce, cucumber, kamaboko, and a thin egg omelette that has lots of green onions in it. Serve with tempura-su on the side for dippin’. Oh GOD do I think that would ROCK!

Watch that video I posted that some local guys did making their take on a saimin burger. What they did was put SPAM and Kamaboko in a food processor, making a SPAM Fishcake burger patty out of that. It looked really weird, and kinda’ burnt when they fried it, however they said it tasted really good. Then again, I’m not sure what they might have been smoking. lol

When I pick-up those Taro-based veggie burgers, I’ll definitely try one using a ramen or saimin noodle “bun”.

How ironic you mention Joe Satriani’s Surfing with the Alien album, as I was actually going to mention that as a contender for best electric guitar album of all time. Now that’s what you call a totally melodic, yet technical album. Did you know he played every instrument on that studio album? I also love his Time Machine album, which is a compilation of new and live recordings.

I’m not an Yngwie Malmsteen fan. He’s a blazing fast, extremely technical (classically trained) player, but many of his songs aren’t melodic and lack direction. Continuous “runs” going up and down the neck gets boring after a few minutes of listening. However, I do like his song Black Star!…

I’ll probably get fried for stating this, but I think it’s a toss-up between Eddie Van Halen, David Gilmour (of Pink Floyd fame), Joe Satriani and Al Di Meola for title as best modern rock/jazz/blues guitarist of our time.

EVH will probably win it, being he’s a pioneer of the modern tapping technique and creating a “sound” like no other, not to mention the millions of albums sold by his band. Still, my heart is most near and dear with Al Di Meola. While Gilmour is up there, ADM is and always has been my number one guitar hero, ever since I was introduced to his music way before high school dayz. ;-)

I love Black Star! EVH is awesome, and ADM is good too. Joe Satriani’s Surfing with the Alien is still my favorite electric guitar album. As commercial as it is, Always with you, Always with me will always have a special place in my heart.

A TV news station here under the call sign KITV used to frequently play Satch’s ‘Always with You, Always with Me’ song track while rolling local sports scores.

I’m the same way with music. Instrumentals (mostly guitar virtuoso stuff) usually hit me deeper emotionally than those with lyrics. With that, David Gilmour to me is THE BEST guitar vocalist. Satriani is great. Steve Vai, crazy, and great too. Yet for Gilmour, while he’s a great rock vocalist (most rock guitarists can’t sing to save their life), he’s an absolute guitar lyricist GOD. His guitar playing isn’t just guitar playing, it’s guitar SINGING. “Bluesy” like nobody’s business. Chunky, and riffy in all the right places, not going overboard. Gilmour can make 3 notes sound like 300. He’ll hold one note and bend it to make almost an entire song out of it. Case-in-point, fast-forward to 14:00 minutes in this live concert of David Gilmour playing the guitar solo for ‘The Blue’. CHICKEN SKIN!…

As for songs with vocals, as you notice, I’m a huge Foo Fighters/Dave Grohl fan, as many of their/his songs can be interpreted in various ways, such as love lost, or political rebellion. From personal experience, I interpret it as the former, where I feel why Dave Grohl yells when he sings as bringing out his inner angst of a very badly broken heart. DG’S a total lyrical genius and overall rock GOD, IMO. He’s also one of the richest, with a net worth said to be around $225 million.

Ironically, I never cared for Nirvana (Dave was their drummer), or that whole grunge movement in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Yet I think his experience as a drummer for one of the most influential bands in modern rock history (Nirvana almost single-handedly took out 80’s metal “hair bands”) is what makes him such a great song writer and overall musician. He understands the entire structure of the song, from the tempo to the way the hook should be. As I read he once said, “When I write a song, I try to think of it as a catchy bumper sticker”. I wouldn’t doubt he has a bumper sticker on his car that says “My other band was Nirvana”.

I like David Gilmour (and Pink Floyd – I have all of their stuff, starting with Piper at the Gates of Dawn! Though my favorite song, I think, is momentary lapse of reason). However, there are some negative connotations for me that go along with David Gilmour (and Pink Floyd), so I don’t listen to much of either these days.

When it comes to lyricists and musicians, I’ve always been a HUGE Peter Gabriel fan. Annie Lennox,too. And U2. (Also Morrissey, The Smiths, The Cure, The The, etc.)

Foo Fighters are ok, their lyrics are fun and their songs are enjoyable, though I wouldn’t go out of my way to see them live. That’s funny about the bumper sticker.

One up-and-coming singer/songwriter/guitar player who I think is really amazing is Brett Dennen. It’s funny, his music and lyrics are so amazing, but his voice is… weird. But it’s easy to get past that because his music is so good.

I’m curious what negative connotations you have about David Gilmour. To me, he’s like the Guitar Angel that roams the stages of this earth. I’m so hurt by your feelings for him! lol

All those lyrcists type musicians you listed are faves of mine, except for U2. LOVE Annie Lennox! Annie’s certainly one of my favorite female vocalists, next to Anita Baker, Basia and Sade.

LOVE Sade. Her songs carried me through the most painful break-up in my life, making me cry even more. Damned you, Sade! lol

Yeah, I thought that “My other band was Nirvana” bumper sticker (a spin on “My other car is a Porsche”) was quite clever myself… and I made it up. *Turns off ego*

Hmmm, not familiar with Brett Dennen. I’ll hit YouTube for some of his stuff. What song of his is your favorite?

P.S. To the rest of the readers out there, don’t mind our little musical derailing of this comment thread (which I don’t mind, as I LOVE talking about music!). We still want to know your thoughts on Da’ Saimin Burger! :-)

David Gilmour – Reminds me of a (terrible, painful) former relationship with a guy who also thought David Gilmour was a god. Btw, did you see Ed Sheeran’s performance of Wish You Were Here at the Olympics closing ceremony? He did a great job; I really like him. If you’re not familiar with his stuff, check out YouTube for the song Grade 8. The way he creates other instruments with the use of a loop pedal is incredible (and it’s a great song).

One of my favorite songs in the world is Pavement Cracks by Annie Lennox, it’s not terribly popular, but you’ll find it on youtube. It’s an amazing song.

I thought I had seen a Mac ‘n Cheese Burger, where the “bun” was made out of it, however the only ones I could find online were topped on the patty within the bun, not formed into the bun itself. I’d think if you did that, the Mac ‘n Cheese “bun” would have to be coated with breadcrumbs (preferably panko) so that you could hold it without the cheese gluing your fingers to it.

That said, as far as I’m concerned, you could pour melted cheese into an old shoe and I’d eat it! When I make my ritual baked potato (approximately ever other night around 10pm lol), I SMOTHER IT with slices of Swiss ‘n American, where the ratio is like, 3:1 potato to cheese (very high). Seriously! Cheese fa-REAK, right here, baby!

I like cheese too, but I really like mac and cheese. You know how homemade mac & cheese gets crusty on the top from the cheese? I assumed a “bun” made from mac & cheese (or saimin/ramen and cheese) would get that cheesy crispiness where it was grilled.

Since you’re such a cheese fan, you’d probably love a grocery store we have here and up the northeast called Wegman’s.They have a cheese section that would rival any high end cheese store, and they also make cheese “cakes” (savory, not sweet). Layers of cheese, things like quince paste, dried fruit or peppers, nuts. They look like bakery confections, but they are all cheese. They have a whole bakery case full of these cheese “cakes” and it’s amazing! A new Wegman’s opened up by me last saturday and I plan to go this weekend, I’ll take a picture of this case for you. You’ll drool!

Wegman’s looks like a cool store. My head already spins at the cheese selection at Safeway and Costco.

To keep this blog active, I should start a new series called “Cheese of the Week”, where I blog a new wedge of gourmet cheese every week. And you know I’m doing that all with Cab’. That’s all I like with any food pairing, damned what the Sommelier recommends. lol I’ll see if any stores here have those cheese “cakes”.

Wegman’s is incredible!! It’s more of an event than a shopping experience. I’ll definitely take a pic of the cheese “cakes” and send it (if they allow pics). One of the best things about the stores is their wine and beer selection, and their constant sampling (tipsy shopping!). Unfortunately, my state doesn’t allow grocery stores to carry wine and beer :(. I have to drive 20 miles to one in the next state for their wine/beer/cider selection.

Cheese of the week would be a super feature!! Especially if you blog some unusual cheese, the sort that most people are too afraid to buy. Just no Gjetost cheese. Ugh, I can taste it just by writing the word. So gross. I would agree that Cab is a good pairing (I think Pinot Noir is good with most things, too), with the disclaimer that I’m lost when it comes to wine parings. I wish I understood more about that. Then maybe I’d gain an appreciation for wine I’d otherwise stay away from, like Riesling.

Ouch. I totally feel where you’re coming from. Is this the same one who liked the “creepy” Safeway stores? lol

I’m not a regular listener of reggae & hip hop music, so thankfully the bands (such as Marley, Kotch & UB40 + 90’s hip hop) that would affect me that way aren’t a part of my regular music listening “loop”, if you will.

I listened to all the songs you recommended. Notice Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason was on drums for the Ed Sheeran olympics performance.

I listened to a few Oleta Adams tracks, and they’re a bit too Gospel for me, however her voice is AMAZING. Do you have a favorite song by her you recommend, as really, I LOVE the range of Gospel-influenced Jazz and R&B singers (particularly female artists), but am really picky on the song itself.

LOL good memory. No, not the same guy. This was a guy I was with for almost 5 years (lived with for 4.5). He was really horrible and emotionally/verbally abusive, and he cheated the whole time. I regret every second I stayed with him. Incidentally, he too is now married with kids. I’m not happy that he’s happy. I know it would be PC to say I was, but I still have scars to work through from that relationship and I don’t understand why Karma hasn’t gotten to him yet. Anyway….

I worked at a record store during high school, and one summer, Basia and Anita Baker were on high rotation, as was Oleta Adams. So I sort of lump them in together. The song I like best by Oleta Adams is “Get Here”

OUCH x’s infinity! Dang, girlfriend! I’m guessing you stayed with him so long because A.) you loved him deeply and hoped you could change him (or he’d magically change himself); and/or B.) The physical attraction and intimacy was so strong and good, it was worth the drama; and/or C.) Financial security; you couldn’t afford to move out on your own, or you had loans cosigned together that needed to be paid off or absolved first.

Without going into details for my situation, we all know the saying “If you love someone, set them free. If they come back, they’re yours. If they don’t, they never were.” Obviously she never was if she got married and had children with another man, which I only discovered recently. Oh well. Hey, that’s life. Everything has a reason.

Nah, It certainly wasn’t A, I hated him but needed him to love me again (see C), and it wasn’t B, I made more money than him. it was C: he was so good at the evilness, I started seeing myself through his eyes, and felt like the only way I could leave whole was to, I don’t know, get him to stop the abuse, stop the cheating and … it really sounds mental to try to go back to that place and rationalize. Anyway, I finally left as a very, very broken person. Relationships can be great, but they can also be so destructive.

I do know that saying. When I was a little kid, I had a framed picture of a little bear with a balloon, and that saying. I kept it and have it even today. It’s a wise saying (though hard to execute). Sorry about your story. I know the situation is painful.

Darn you for changing your reply while I was writing mine :-D Now my reply makes no sense. No to the B you added, even the intimacy was blah. Ugh, such a waste of time, what was I thinking. But yes, we did have a lot of financial entanglements and a business to split, which was something that kept me stuck, just because the logistics seemed insurmountable. However, looking back, it wasn’t such a big deal. I could have easily walked away sooner without much loss and with dignity and more pieces of my soul. Ah well, live and learn.

Sorry about that. I thought that third option might have applied, so added it.

Ah, a business to split. IIRC, there’s one or two Restaurant Impossible (Robert Irvine) episodes where couples actually split because they don’t see eye-to-eye on running their restaurant business together.

People are probably thinking now, “We’re going from Saimin Burgers, to David Gilmour, and now The Young and the Restless?” LOL!

LOL about the progression. Thank goodness it wasn’t anything like a restaurant to split. It was just annoying, frustrating and depressing. Then, after I left, I thought “screw that, I built a business once, I can do it again, wasn’t like he did much” and once I took that attitude, he relented and handed over the logistical stuff (URL, site, etc.). It was just a weird feeling and a foreign situation for me. Whatever, it’s over now, has been for a very long time. Just the lingering trying to find the me I was before the relationship. I miss that person way more than I miss him (I don’t miss him AT ALL). Ok, relationship story time is over! :-D

OK, OK, alright, alright, “Young and the Restless” time is over!… as long as the next song or artist or food we mention doesn’t have you say it reminds you of your apparently demonic ex-boyfriend. “Hey, do you like Captain Crunch cereal?” H replies, “Don’t talk to me about Captain Crunch. My evil ex couldn’t go a DAY without his Captain Crunch. Ugh.” LOL!!!

I don’t know about Crunchberries, however the ones I never got was Cocoa Puffs and Cocoa Pebbles (sp?). Chocolate-flavored cereals never did work for me as a kid. I don’t know about now, as I haven’t had the cereals I used to eat as a kid like in AGES. I’m more into the nut and preserved fruit granola type cereals now. None specific in mind. As long as it’s high in fiber and not too sugary. Usually I get whatever Kashi flavor they have at Costco. Right now no cereal (ran out). Just fruits.

There used to be a business in the Pearl City area of Oahu called Cereal Remix, which was essentially a cereal bar, where you pick and mix your own concoction of cereals, toppings (fruits, nuts, etc.) and type of milk, etc. Never been there, and it’s since closed down. Great concept, yet wrong location for the most part.

Gosh, this is probably the most DERAILED comment thread EVER on this blog… and I’m enjoying every word of it! lol

I don’t think I ever really liked coco puffs/pebbles, but I ate them at summer camp because they were always the “alternative” breakfast offering for picky breakfast eaters like me who wanted no part of bacon and eggs or sausage, biscuits and gravy.

I usually eat grape nuts or a cereal by Post (I think?) with granola bits, flakes, almond slivers and dried cranberry. I don’t know why I never bothered to learn the name, I’ve been eating it since High School. I mostly eat cereal for lunch or dinner, since I really hate eating in the morning.

I’ve heard of the sort of “cereal bar” you’re talking about. They were all the rage 10 or so years ago. Lots of college campuses and big, high-pedestrian-traffic cities (DC, Chicago, NYC) had them. I never went to one, and I don’t think they really made it. Too bad, it’s a clever concept. I remember reading that the employees’ work uniforms were pajamas. Sounds cozy.

Yeah, I remember a place called CEREALITY that was featured on either the Food Network or Travel Channel. It’s weird how some food trends stick, while others get burnt out and fade away. Who ever thought concepts such as Subway, Starbucks and Jamba Juice would become the behemoths that they are today? I’m quite surprised the sexy lingerie-clad barista coffee truck here called of all things, Wild Bean Espresso, would still thrive, yet they’re still around! (and no, I’m not one of their patrons keeping them around. lol)

Getting somewhat back to topic, several notable buffet restaurants here have a mini Saimin bar, where you pick and choose the toppings you want, being the typical Charsiu, ham, SPAM, Kamaboko, Bean Sprouts and Green Onion. Namely The Willows, Pagoda, Prince Court and Oceanarium. At least, they had them on my last visits. What’s funny is, of the couple I tried, I could tell all the broth was, was a water mixed with dashinomoto. Nothing wrong with that… better than bland SHRIMP STOCK!

Speaking of buffet restaurants, no place can beat those in Vegas. On my last trip there, I tried the one at MGM Grand and the Bellagio. OMG! You want food “bar” in every flavor? Dude! Insane! It’s actually frustrating, because your stomach doesn’t have the room to try everything they have to offer, even if you just barely pin-pricked at one item from each station. Cereal Bar. Egg Station Bar. Seafood Bar (more crab legs, shrimp cocktail, sashimi, sushi, and oysters on the half shell than you could DREAM OF!). Pho Bar. Ramen Bar. Prime Rib Bar. Pizza Bar. Ice Cream & Gelato Bar. Bar Bar. lol And most around $15 for lunch, $25 for dinner… all subsidized by the casinos, of course. So a word to the Vegas wise: after you spent over $9,950 at the slots or poker machine, save that final $50 you have left to your name and EAT UP at the buffet to recoup at least some of your money back. LOL!!!

Sorry to dig skeletons out of the closet, but I have one more ‘Young and the Restless” question for you:

Do you agree with the saying “It’s better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all”?

Reason asking is, when I went through that long and drawn out break-up, followed by years and years of emotional heartbreak (missing her very dearly), then followed by taking a VERY LONG TIME to heal, I always wished I had NEVER MET HER. I practically hated myself for giving my heart to her. If only I had not attended that one event where I met her, my life wouldn’t have eventually turned out so miserable upon her leaving, after the time I spent with her that was some of the best and most endearing moments of my life.

Were those good times worth the bad? I spent way, way, way, way, way, WAY MORE TIME suffering the LOSS of her in my life than I did WITH her.

As difficult as it is (was/is/was/is/was), while not before, I now tend to believe it’s better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all, as that experience helps you grow as a person. Alongside loving yourself, if you don’t know what it feels like to REALLY love someone romantically to the depth of your heart and soul (as I did for her), then you’ll never really be a complete person, even if upon their departure, you feel empty. When you have that void in your life, you seek truth, guidance and wisdom, either through school, work, religion, sports, friends and/or a new relationship. And struggle builds character, while also helping you learn from past mistakes.

Then again, according to this article, there’s scientific psychological evidence that this saying just may indeed NOT have merit, at least for those who were married then divorced or widowed.

Still, personally as the way I’ve experienced love lost, I find that saying does have merit. Of course in a perfect world, one would always have love and NEVER lose that love. And we all know for the most part where that exists, which is the eternal bond between parent and child.

Back somewhat on topic, it was recently announced there’s a new Teriyaki-flavored SPAM! Now no need make Teriyaki sauce when making SPAM Musubi, since get da’ flavah already in da’ SPAM!

When it comes to romantic love, no, I do not believe it’s better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all.

When it comes to other love, I (reluctantly) do believe. I had a cat, I got her when I was 18 and just moved into my own apartment. Over the next 17 years, we developed a strong bond. I loved her so much, and I think she loved me too (in as much as a cat can love a human). She was, in many ways, my best friend. When I cried, she’d paw my face as if to wipe away my tears. She spent every night asleep under my arm with her head on my shoulder. We were so close. When she died 3 years ago, my heart was broken. Just shattered. I felt like life would never be the same without her. I wished I had never experienced such deep love, only to have it taken away. It would have been better to have not had that love at all. I still miss her deeply, but I am rational enough to realize that the good times and the love were worth so much that the pain of losing her is better than to have never had her at all. It’s not her fault she died. I’m sure she would have lived forever if she could have. I still feel like I never want that kind of pain again and probably will never get another pet, but I’m still thankful for what I had.

I was very, very close to my grandmother. I loved her so much and saw her several times a week. Even as a teen with my own car and license and could have spent that time getting into trouble with friends, I still went to her place for dinner a few times a week, even more time than my parents spent with her. I loved her so. When she died, I felt such a loss, I wished I wasn’t as close to her, I wish my relationship with her wasn’t so strong, I wish I didn’t feel such a loss. I felt like my cousins who lived out of state and saw her once ever 2 years or so had it so much better, because it wasn’t such a loss for them. But as I became more rational, I know that the time we spent was a gift and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Death isn’t a purposeful thing. I was devastated but not hurt, you know?

When it comes to romantic love, I have a story very much like yours. Well, I have several stories of pain, but one, especially is so profound, that a decade later, my heart still hurts. I very much wish I had never met him, and my life would have been so much better if I had never been in that relationship. The pain is just not worth the good times. Sure, you learn things in relationships, and you learn about yourself. But you also learn about other people. And the worse the ending, the worse they are to you, bits of your innocence is lost. Before this person, most of my relationships ended due to growing apart or perhaps a non-dragged-out falling out of love, the kind that ends before the love is completely gone, but when it starts to feel that way, so as not to hurt the person while the other person (or yourself, if you are the one falling out of love) deliberates, and the one still in love just hangs on, knowing… When someone you love is emotionally dishonest, or even an actual cheater, it colors the way you see the world. It takes away the innocence of love and makes you subconsciously question new romantic interests’ intentions. But besides all of that, the severity of the pain, after the depth of so much love, just isn’t worth the love. That’s not to say after such pain, never get into another relationship. Of course I’ve been in other relationships over the past decade. But the ghost of that relationship will always be there. There will always be a specific hole in my heart over him. In all honesty, that could be repaired if, even today, 10 years later, he were to take responsibility for the things he did, if he just apologized or acknowledged my suffering. If he showed some glimmer of humanity, I might be able to patch that hole, and maybe my opinion about the value of love over loss might be different. But as it stands, after several years as what I thought was a “good” person, he did some very, very lousy things. Everyone makes mistakes, sure. But I don’t think a truly good person could inflict such pain without feeling any remorse. I don’t think he was a good person at all, he just showed me the side he wanted for as long as it fit his needs. So why appreciate those times when they now seem hollow in the big picture? Anyway, this is the loooooooong version of saying no, in romantic cases, I don’t think it is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all. Not everything turns out well, and it’s perfectly acceptable to just accept the loss and hurt without wrapping it into a “better to have…” package.

Wow, that was an awfully personal comment. Also, sorry for getting on a soapbox there.
(oh, and I’m so embarrassed for leaving such a personal comment, I can’t bring myself to read it again to edit, so pardon grammar and spelling)

We have lots of yogurt bars here, too. I’ve never been to one though. I don’t like yogurt.

Do you have any/many mongolian BBQ places there? I love those. We don’t have many here, but they were all over the place when I lived in Austin, TX.

I love the buffets in Vegas. I think I’d rather go to them than the fancy dining places, you can have fancy dining anywhere! We have a really great Asian buffet here, it’s called Sushi Hibachi Buffet, and while they do have sushi and hibachi, they have a ridiculous amount of seafood, dim sum, and tons of chinese entrees, soups and veggies. My mom loves it there, so whenever I take her out to lunch, we go there. She always reminds the cashier that she wants the Sr Citizen’s price posted on the wall, and he always pretends he doesn’t speak english. I always tell her I’m happy to pay the extra $3 just to avoid that whole conflict, but she refuses to give in. Mothers!

You know, surprisingly Mongolian BBQ joints are not popular here. Weird. We used to have one in Kaimuki, but they closed down. There’s only one listed right now on Yelp that I never heard of before called Great Khan in Pearlridge Center (a shopping mall in Aiea), however the reviews aren’t overall on the great side.

When I was a kid, our neighbor who was a US Navy nuclear sub commander, used to take us to this AMAZING Mongolian BBQ restaurant at Kaneohe Marine Base, however, that’s not there anymore, either. I’ll never forget going down the line to pick and choose my own veggies and meats, then taking it to the Mongolian BBQ grill guy to cook my stuff. It really had a smokey flavor to it. So ono!

Similar to that, the big thing here is Korean style Yakiniku, where you cook your own veggies and meats right at your table on a centralized grill.

There’s a touristy restaurant in Waikiki right on the beach called Shorebird, where you grill your own meats (primarily steaks). Obviously not your (and now my) thing, but just thought I’d mention it.

BBQ type restaurants in general aren’t as big here as you’d think it would be, being we’re surrounded by beaches and ocean. I guess Hawaii folks get enough of it doing their own BBQ at the beach. Makes sense.

As for Asian (specifically Japanese) Buffet, we have Todai and Hakone, both of course featuring seafood galore. LOVE IT! It’s hard to say who has the best overall buffet here on Oahu. I’d say depending on the time and day (and who’s the chef and cooks in back), it’s a toss-up between Prince Court (Waikiki), Oceanarium (Waikiki) and The Willows (Mo’ili’ili). All featuring great views as a plus!

I like Todai. This place is like the not-so-fancy Todai. LOL about my mom being Jewish. Yep, she is. However, she doesn’t usually fit the stereotype, she’s not otherwise cheap. She doesn’t even care about the discount in reality. However, she’s stubborn as a mule. If a sign says senior discount, and someone refuses it, she’s going to fight for it because she’s always afraid someone is putting something over on her. She even does it at work about leave-time hours. She’s just stubborn and neurotic.

I knew Todai was a chain, but didn’t know they had locations all the way across to the East Coast. We had (or still have?) a knock-off of Todai here called Makino Chiya. They were really good in the beginning, but the quality really went downhill towards the end when they finally closed their Honolulu locations.

I think all adults are stubborn as mules. Look at our soap opera cases. Both you and I are stubborn as mules, not letting go of the past, only because the heart dictates it. Your mom’s no different, only with a different kind of “issue”. lol

Todai is all over the place!! This place here (and I hear that this area has many sushi/asian buffets, but I haven’t explored any of the others) is pretty authentic, despite not having as many vegetarian sushi options as I’d like, but I’ll live. They have about 6 caldrons of soups, too. Most of the time, one is bull frog. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that any place that serves bull frog is at least somewhat authentic. Their shellfish offerings are crazy, loads of oysters and shrimp on ice, vats of maryland crab (the very thing that turned me from pescatarian back to vegetarian. Oh the lungs and gills, can’t be unseen), piles of that crawfish, alaskan crab legs, lobster, sometimes they even have stone crab legs (have you ever priced those? I don’t know how this place affords it). They also have interesting fish preparations, dim sum (for crying out loud, is there a need to eat chicken feet? Really?), lots of vegetable dishes (I usually gorge on string beans with black bean paste and grilled mushrooms), sushi, sashimi, build-your-own hibatchi, regular salad bar, a whole, beautiful fruit bar, I’ve never made it to the desserts because, after a heaping plate of string beans, I can’t be bothered to waddle over to what looks like 15 different cake options. They also have an american section, with roast beef, ribs, mac and cheese, etc., but why bother, you know?

It’s funny to sit there and people watch. People can really be gluttons at buffets. The last time I was there, the couple at the table next to me had about 4 plates of shellfish shells, and heaping plates of shellfish. My mom and I stayed for about an hour, just chatting and whatnot, and these people were still there, eating plate after plate of shellfish when we left. I sure hope they tipped their waitress well. You’d think they had never seen seafood before. I guess all-you-can-eat means different things to different people.

As for being stubborn, I honestly don’t think we are being stubborn for holding on to heartache. I guarantee that if someone offered to wave a magic wand and make it all go away, we’d both be first in line. Sometimes I really, really, REALLY, really wish that there was some real life version of the memory process in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. As for my mother’s stubbornness, she’s really bananas. She refuses to take her medication, because she doesn’t want to be a “sick old person” I try to reason with her that the medication is stopping her from that, but it doesn’t work well. If I told you some of her stubbornness stories, you’d be in stitches from laughing (and then probably feel a little guilty :-D).

I probably have more to say in reply to your reply to my reply to… oh, who’s counting … but that will have to wait. You know my rule. One super deep reply a day. After that, my brain turns into a pumpkin.

Wow, the Todai in your neck of the woods has way more exotic offerings than the one and only location here in Waikiki. Bull Frog Soup? You’d think with Hawaii having such a high percentage of asian and south pacific immigrants (FOB, not localized), we’d have lots of restaurants serving what most westerners would consider bizarre eats, but nope, not much at all, except for perhaps in the Chinatown area. Funny how you said Maryland Crab turned you off from seafood. I too am not huge on crab, especially the meat near the organs. Like for shrimp, while I LOVE eating tail (shrimp cocktail FIEND), not at all into sucking head. lol!!!

I could imagine your aversion for chicken feet dim sum. That’s like the vegetarian’s visual Anti-Christ, next to any animal liver, or other “offal” parts. I bet just the thought of tripe (menudo) soup/stew has you gagging.

If you like string beans, you must also like steamed soy beans, known as Edamame (very green color). That’s very commonly served here as a pupu (appetizer), often mixed with garlic and/or sesame oil, or made in the Korean style with Kochu Jang sauce (like Kim Chee). Speaking of which, another popular pupu (appetizer) here similar to edamame is boiled peanuts. LOVE the stuff! The local version usually has some star anise added to the boiling water, from our Chinese influence.

As for buffet gluttony, I recently had brunch at the Oceanarium, where two fellahz sitting next to our table ate nothing but snow crab legs the ENTIRE hour or so we were there. I swear their server must have removed at least 4 plates of crab leg shells during that time. I mean really, don’t you get sick of eating the same thing after like one plate’s worth? I mean I love shrimp cocktail, but could never eat a whole plate’s worth, let along two! About a handful or so and that’s it, enough already, Moving on! Then again, I’m sounding like a hypocrite, as when it comes to sashimi and poke (raw fish) at the buffet, where there’s no restraint on quantity, I CAN eat a whole plate’s worth! Not two, though, no way. I once came back to the table with a dinner plate sized platter of nothing but sashimi and poke, and everyone was laughing at how outrageous I get over the stuff. “Whoah, there ya’ go!” was one comment. lol

I’ll have to see the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Similar to that premise, I really enjoyed 50 First Dates (Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler), which was filmed here on Oahu.

I’d love to hear more funny stubborn stories about your mom after your head changes back to normal from pumpkin mode. My brain turned into a bowl of poi after all the deep stuff we exchanged on this thread. lol

No, no, no, this is the rip-off Todai, called Sushi and hibatchi supreme buffet. We actually have a LOT of Chinese people in this area. In fact, the county has the highest population in the US outside of California and Hawaii! This area could be an amazing melting pot like you have there in Hawaii, but instead, we’re more like a condiment tray. Everything is separate. As for chinese places serving what most would consider bizarre eats… a lot of the places here have (what westerners would consider) weird stuff. The place I usually order from also has bullfrog casserole, it must be a popular protein (I only knew they ate frog in China from watching An Idiot Abroad). They also have duck feet and mushroom casserole. I can’t think of any of the other unusual stuff off the top of my head.

Maryland crab is the worst when it comes to seeing or eating innards. They don’t really have much in the way of claws, so you have to pop the shell off and pick around the innards and gunk. *shudders* The first time I had one, I almost cried and was so disturbed that on the way home, I decided to give up all seafood, I was just really disturbed.

Nice shellfish pun, btw.

The sight of Menudo (the soup) doesn’t bother me too much. Tripe looks no more disgusting than other parts, in my opinion. The sight of Menudo (the band, specifically ’80s era) does not bother me either. First concert! :-D Chicken feet, however, are just so graphic, I don’t know. I don’t like the way they are curled and clenched. It reminds me of my mother’s cockatoo’s claws.

I do like edamame! I actually love it (which is weird, because I HATE boiled peanuts). Unfortunately, I can’t eat it too often, since I’m supposed to avoid goitrogenic foods, but just try and separate me from my broccoli or cabbage, so I try to avoid the ones I’d miss the least.

I’ll have to think of some good stories about my mother’s stubbornness. My brain is still mushy. Just suffice it to say that the phrase “cutting of [one’s] nose to spite [one’s] face” could have been created for her.

Re: Eternal Sunshine, it’s way, way, way darker than 50 first dates, but a really lovely and thought provoking movie.

Ah, yet another Chinese knock-off. Not to single-out Chinese, as here on Oahu, we have quite a bunch of Korean “knock-off” restaurants, with Korean-owned and operated “Japanese” Ramen shops, Okazuyas, and even Chinese restaurants. Or Chinese running Korean and Japanese restaurants! Go figure!

I’ll elaborate more later. Gotta’ run. I have some thoughts to share on this subject!

That was an INCREDIBLE explanation of your belief in the saying. I enjoyed reading it from start to finish. Huge mahalo for sharing that!

I didn’t even think about the bonds I’ve had over the years with pet dogs we’ve owned that have come and gone. Dogs’ typical lifespan are only 15 to 20 human years (the latter if you’re lucky), and as you know, we recently lost Nainai, our family Shih Tzu. Whom while I didn’t live in the same household as her, whenever i went to visit, I felt we had a very emotional, almost spiritual bond based on unconditional love, as most dogs have for their “alpha leader”. I certainly was hers, especially for the fact that I’m a male, which if you know dogs, female dogs (such as Nainai) are prone to be more receptive to (human) men. She would always stay right by my side and never leave me out of sight, while being very protective over me. We genuinely loved each other, as much as a human-to-dog love can have. I cried myself to sleep over a week after she passed away. Yet as you said, in that type of love, I had the rationale to accept the loss.

What’s interesting to note about you saying you’d never get another pet after losing your cat, is my mother always had the philosophy that when one of her dogs passes away, to IMMEDIATELY replace that dog with a new puppy. .And in that case, it’s worked! While you pour all your love into the new puppy and nurture them, you know you will always have a place in your memory and heart for the beloved dog who had just passed away. It’s different a kind of love though, compared to a romantic love, as you said.

Even before, and now what you explained about that saying and how it applies to romantic love, I’m beginning to feel I’d like to retract my belief that it’s better to have loved and lost her (or him in your case). That for the fact, I’m left with an indelible emotional scar and hole in my heart, that even a new relationship never patched. Sure, I grew and learned from the mistakes and negative experience, but I’d rather have grown from personal challenges (job, financial & family issues, etc.), not those that deeply affect the human condition in matters-of-the-heart.

I can totally relate to why they call it a broken heart, as you actually feel physical pain in your heart, as if that person whom I loved to the depth of my soul had reached right into my chest and ripped it out and left it bloody on the ground, stomping on it while it beat its last beat. But it didn’t beat its last beat. It stayed ripped out and battered, but it still beat, albeit sporadically, while still being connected to my soul, now with a gaping hole.

The thing in my case is, though, I don’t blame her for anything (well, she wasn’t an angel, but in my eyes, she could do no wrong), but place all the blame strictly on MYSELF for giving her my heart. I really shouldn’t have committed to her from day one. As it turned out, we were the PERFECT MATCH with chemistry that was on fire, only having met at the WRONG TIME in our lives. If we had only met each other say 5 or 10 years later than when we did, I’d probably be married to her with kids today. In fact, if we had stayed together perhaps 2 years or more longer than we did, I was ready to propose to her back then. But God didn’t plan it that way, or as I believe, it wasn’t part of my Karma.

I just wish I had known about her being married with children much longer ago, as in when it began, so as far as back then, I’d have already found closure, KNOWING she in fact was NOT mine (in reference to the “set them free” saying), but she gave her heart to someone else. When I did find out about it only recently, it did bring me that closure I was seeking for so long, knowing she’s moved on and happy, and as importantly, knowing her mom and ohana in general are doing well. Hugging her mom (whom I heart dearly) and finding that part in the peace-making process took the WORLD off my shoulder. No longer are these ominous black clouds lingering over me, whereas I finally found blue sky.

I just hope to God I NEVER EVER see her again. Ever. Not in a photo (which almost single-handedly re-broke my heart) or most especially, not in person, God-forbid, NO! I don’t think I can emotionally handle it. We live on a small island, so we’ll see how that goes.

In spite of that excruciatingly long and trying chapter of my life, I’m very happy where I am now. I may not have her, but I have ME. I finally found ME. My career, health, and life overall is great!

P.S. There used to be a feature where readers could post-edit their comments, but that plugin was totally bogging down the load time of this blog, so I axed it. If anyone wants comments removed or edited, send me an eMail and I’ll be happy to do so. If you’re going to write a long comment, I’d suggest using your own text editor, then copy-pasting it in.

You made me sad when you lost a pet for my pet a cat was killed when a car ran over it in neighborhood. I cried off and on over her. I raised it from a kitten and she follow me everywhere. I still miss her.

I’m glad you are otherwise happy now. I wouldn’t have imagined it to be any other way. All of our lives are made up of tons of aspects, if you were still consumed by this singular aspect, then it would not be healthy. Self-loathing is a destructive poison. But if that were the case all these years later, your blog would probably cease to exist, in addition to many other things.

I’m glad you have made peace with your circumstances. For me, I do not have to worry about seeing him in person, we no longer live in the same state. Like your experience, timing played a huge role in ours as well. Our love was epic, and our story unique and extremely romantic, till it wasn’t. In the end, the timing was just off (and to some extent, age was a factor – I am now the age that he was when we first met, which is a weird thing to think about), but the way that aspect played out was unnecessary and uncivilized. That aside, it’s not like “now” is the right time either (even though it theoretically is). Pain does not translate into a desire to a desire to relive the relationship, If he contacted me tomorrow and wanted to rekindle things, I would not be interested. I’d only be interested in the honesty that would bring me closure, and he would never, ever, ever agree to that. So while the pain is still there, the actual love, in the present, isn’t. It’s a complicated concept to put into words.

As for the text editor, nah, I like writing spontaneously, warts and all. I try to not be overly precious about my writing, and would rather send things out into the world with a few mistakes, rather than labor over things ’til the point that they are perfect, yet lack the emotion of the moment. What’s a few weird grammatical errors, stray words and half-finished thoughts amongst friends and strangers, right?

This blog would cease to exist had it not been for that heartbreaking experience. I think it was the inner pain that inspired me to find a hobby that would develop me constructively on an intellectual level, doing something I truly enjoy doing to uplift my spirit. And I really enjoy talking about food, not only because it taste so darned good, taking any emotional bad taste out of my mouth, but it’s also artistic, further fueling my passion.

In that regard, think of this blog as an epic love story written indelibly within my heart and soul, indirectly, yet now passionately unfolded and unwound.

+1 on Wegman’s…. great store. Reaallly great store. I wonder if anyone here on Maui is doing a saimin burger yet? Somebody must be at least thinking about it! Gotta jump on a trend while flattop’s hot….

Except don’t name it Saimin Burger. Oh, no, overplayed already. Name it Sam Sato’s “Juicy Dry Mein Burger”! You can’t just call it a “Dry Mein Burger”, as that doesn’t sound appetizing. However if you name it the “Juicy Dry Mein Burger”, then people (especially tourists) would be scratching their heads, like, “What do they mean by that? Whatever it is, I gotta’ try it!” ;-)

Since you’re on Maui, next time you hit Sam Sato’s, show the owners this post on your smartphone, and suggest to them to make their version of the Saimin Burger. Guaranteed would sell like crazy at Sam Sato’s! Not that they need the business though, as that place is already packed every day from what I hear.

In other related news, sighted at Don Quijote Kaheka recently, the new Teriyaki SPAM!….